Soul sighed as he touched Maka's hand. Her mouth was opened slightly and her eyes were closed. She could just be sleeping, Soul thought to himself. He knew better. He knew exactly why she was laying on this bed, without moving or giving him any of her warm smiles. It was because he had failed as a weapon.

3 WEEKS AGO

Soul and Maka were walking through the streets of a small town a few miles outside of London. The sun was setting and the dusky sky was a shade of purple. The wind was blowing slightly and Maka's sandy pigtails swayed slightly. There had been reports of a few murders here under curious circumstances. The victims were said to all have had their throats slashed roughly, but even stranger than that all of them looked as if someone had taken a pair of scissors and roughly cut their hair. It looked like the work of pre-kishin so Kid had sent them to go and check it out. That's how they ended up walking down the streets of a deserted cul-de-sac in the fading light of the day.

"Maka, do you really think they're gonna strike tonight? They haven't for the last 3 times we went out," Soul grumbled. They had been walking for a long time and he was getting tired and hungry.

"I don't know but the last victim was discovered near here and I just want to patrol to be sure so shut it," Maka grunted. "Who knows when this freak will strike again, his crimes really creep me out." She shuddered and scooted a little closer towards Soul. He looked down at her and couldn't help but notice the blush that was spreading over her cheeks.

"Are you scared?" He asked with a smirk but he secretly thought it was cute.

"No! Of course I'm not scared. I'm a two star mei-" Maka stopped short and held a finger to her lips. She grabbed souls hand and looked at him. His heart stuttered at her touch. Shit, he thought. "Do you hear that?" she whispered. Soul listened intently and in fact did hear something. It was the sound of dragging footsteps and they were coming this way. "Turn into a scythe," she urged softly. Soul did as commanded by his meister. Maka gripped him tightly with her gloved hands and ducked in between two houses. She put her back up against the cold red bricks and peeked her head around the side. They saw a silhouette of what she just couldn't understand. It had the shape of a man, sort of. The left side was slumped and misshapen. In one of the hands she could just make out a pair of shears. Maka swore softly to herself. She could sense his soul and had no doubt that this was the pre-kishin they were looking for.

"Maka, that's him." Soul stated. Maka nodded and looked at her partner. Her green eyes shown with determination and Soul almost couldn't keep their stare. That had been happening a lot as of late. He couldn't hold her gaze for too long. It made his stomach pang with something that he couldn't quite understand and didn't want to delve into for what he knew it probably meant. Suddenly Maka smiled.

"Let's go," She said with a determined look on her face. Maka leapt out at the man with Soul tightly in her hand intending to end the fight with one blow but they had underestimated him. He suddenly jerked to the left narrowly missing Souls blade. He chuckled.

"I was wondering when you would come out of hiding, my dear." The creature rasped in a deep drawling voice, and stepped into the dim light of the street lamps. His silhouette had hidden the actual grotesque being that stood before Maka and Soul. His skin was a shade of grey and was stretched too tightly over his big frame. The left side of his body was grossly misshapen and covered in lumps that were a shade of dark purple, but the most hideous part about his appearance that was on the left side of his face he had absolutely no skin. They could see the bright bloody muscles on his face. His left eyeball was bloodshot and yellow in color. His irises were the color of murky pond water. He wore nothing except a pair of tattered blood stained jeans. In his right hand a pair of rusty shears was gripped tightly.

Maka jumped back. "You sensed where I was?" She asked incredulously, eyes wide with disbelief. Soul's stomach clenched as the man smiled at his partner sickeningly.

"I could smell you from the moment you entered the cul-de-sac. Such a lovely smell," The man sighed. "You must use jasmine shampoo, it's quite a delectable smell."

Maka's face turned to horror then to anger. Soul couldn't help but smile at his meister. This creep was in for it now. Maka didn't tolerate men commenting about anything having to do with her. In fact it angered her immensely which only fueled her fighting style.

"Don't talk about me like that," Maka sneered as she gripped Souls handle. She charged at the man with Soul held above her head and as she got up to him with a screech she brought soul down over the pre-kishin. A clang echoed through the air as soul collided with the pair of shears the man was gripping.

"You'll have to be faster than that," He grinned as he pushed her back easily. Soul could tell that this pre-kishin was closer to becoming a full kishin than any of the others they had fought before. He seemed incredibly strong. Maka charged at him again and again swinging Soul but the man parried every blow with his shears. After a few minutes of this, Maka jumped back from the man.

"It's no use, Soul, He can parry every blow I send his way." Maka was heaving as sweat dripped down over her face. She had a cut on her cheek.

"My dear, you have such lovely hair, it's really quite wonderful," The man rasped stepping closer madness and desire glinting in his eyes. Suddenly his eyes popped open wider and shrieked a ghastly sound. "I MUST HAVE IT!" He snarled with foam around his mouth. He charged at Maka and Soul vehemently.

"Shit, shit, shit," Soul swore. Maka held soul up just in time as the shears came inches from her face. She shrieked and punched the man right in his exposed eye on the left side of his face. He howled in agony as he fell over in the gravel. Maka swung Soul in his direction but the man held up the shears and Soul went flying from Maka's hand as he collided with the shears and she fell over. Soul ended up wedged in the side of the house they were fighting in front of. The man stood up and walked over to Maka's bruised body removed her pigtails and pulled her up by her hair as she hung there limply, breathing unsteadily.

"Maka!" Soul screamed unable to turn back into human form while wedged into the side of the house. He struggled uselessly as he watched in horror as the man brought his shears up to Maka's beautiful sandy hair. The man was practically drooling and in one swift snip he cut off a majority Maka's hair. He then threw her limp body away from him and soul watched in horror as her head hit the hard pavement with such force a loud crack sounded through the cool night air. Soul screamed so loud he could feel the black blood boiling to the surface. The next few moments were a blur as he somehow un-wedged himself from the side of the house and flung himself toward the man as the man was walking towards Maka with his shears raised.

"I'm going to slit your throat, girl, for punching me in the eye, but thanks for the beautiful hair, I'll put it with the others." The man stated with malice in his voice. Suddenly a blade pierced him from the back. He looked down to see a red and black blade now covered with his blood. He heard a voice from behind him snarling.

"Don't you fucking touch her, you piece of shit," Soul growled. The man gurgled for a moment as blood poured from his mouth and he burst around the blade protruding from Soul's arm. All that was left was a shining red soul. That didn't matter to Soul as he rushed to Maka. He kneeled down and pulled Maka's head into his lap as he checked for a pulse. Thank death, he thought to himself as he felt her pulse fluttering under his fingers. "Maka," he whispered fervently "Can you hear me? Come on open your eyes." He touched her cheek softly. He was desperate as he looked at the back of her head and saw her now short hair soaked with blood. He swore to himself and removed his jacket and placed it against the back of her head. He frantically thought of who to call. Who was in charge of this area? He swore, Maka would know, but she wouldn't open her eyes or respond to his touch or voice at all for that matter. Suddenly he remembered that Black Star was in the area with Tsubaki on a mission for kid that was less intense than Soul and Maka's mission. He grabbed his cell phone and called him. Black Star answered on the third ring.

"Yo, Soul, S'up? Miss Black Star that much, that you need to be consoled by his voice?" Black Star laughed loudly.

"Now's not the time, I need help, We were on a mission a few miles outside of London and this guy knocked me out of Maka's hand and oh god there's so much fucking blood, and she's not responding, help, please," Soul rambled desperately.

"Me and Tsu are on our way just hold on," Black Star said with a click as he hung up.

Soul kept pressure on the back of Maka's head. She was still breathing, but it was so soft and shallow he had to keep checking to make sure. He kept touching her face softly as her head was in his lap. "Don't you die on me, Maka, don't you dare," He demanded. He kept going over what had happened in his head over and over again, thinking of what he could have done differently to prevent this. He was almost crying by the time Black Star and Tsubaki showed up.

Tsubaki rushed to Maka's side and gasped. "What happened?" She said softly looking at Maka's short hair and bruised body. Soul told them both quickly how the guy was so close to becoming a Kishin and that he was stronger than they had thought and got the better of them.

"Let's get her out of here," Tsu declared "Stein is nearby and we can get her to him and he'll do everything he can." She touched Soul's shoulder and he nodded. He picked up Maka and they walked out of there as the wind scattered the pieces of Maka's cut hair around the dark cul-de-sac.

PRESENT 3 WEEKS LATER

Soul now sat next to Maka's hospital bed holding her limp hand. The blow to her head had put her in a coma and she hadn't woken up yet. Soul blamed himself. He couldn't help but feel like he failed as her weapon partner because he had failed to protect her when she needed him the most. He knew that if she was awake she would Maka Chop him for thinking these things but he couldn't help it. It was his sole purpose in life to protect her and make sure she didn't get hurt and he had failed and nothing could change that.

When they had gotten to where Stein was he had stitched up the back of Maka's head and declared he couldn't know how severe it was until they got back to the DWMA and he could X-ray her skull. Soul had nodded and just kept holding Maka's hand and didn't stop until they got to the DWMA and he was shut out of the room when Stein had to X-ray and do other sorts of tests and shots and blood work. Soul was inconsolable the entire time. He had tried to go home but the empty house just served as a reminder to where Maka was and why she wasn't here with him. He was lonely and for the first time in the 7 years he had been with Maka he felt like crying. Sure she had gotten injuries before, but nothing this serious; she had always opened her eyes for his voice or his touch and given him one of her warm wonderful smiles.

When he found no comfort in the silence of their apartment Soul, went back up to the DWMA and just waited outside of the hospital room for Stein to come out and give him the news. He ended up falling asleep there and was awoken by someone shaking his shoulder. "Maka…" He mumbled when he opened his eyes and saw blonde hair, he then realized the hair was too bright to be Maka's and anyways hers had been cut so short it was almost a pixie cut now. When he fully opened his eyes he saw Marie standing there with her swollen pregnant belly.

"Hey, Soul," Marie smiled softly. "Steins done with the tests but he went home to get some rest."

"Oh," Soul sighed and stood up. "Did he tell you why she won't wake up?" Marie nodded and placed a hand over her belly. He saw that tears were streaming down her face. She sniffed.

"Stein says that she has swelling of the brain because of all the blood, her actual brain isn't damaged but her body has put her in a coma to try and stop the swelling on her head, I'm sorry, we don't know when or if she'll wake up." Marie was almost sobbing now and Soul felt like doing the same. So he just nodded.

"Am I allowed to go in and see her?" He asked stiffly forcing himself not to cry. Marie nodded and he turned away from her and walked into the room. Maka was hooked up to a bunch of machines and IV drips that were keeping her nourished. The steady beep of the heart monitor filled the room. He looked at her. Her short hair splayed on the pillow, and her lips open slightly, breathing softly. He sat down next to her and held her hand.

And that's where he was now, sitting next to Maka holding her hand. Willing her to wake up. 3 Weeks she had been in a coma now, and Soul was going crazy. Without her warmth filling up his life, he was lost. He couldn't sleep, couldn't play the piano, he could barely eat and only did because Marie kept making him food to take home with him at night. The nights were the absolute worst for him. He had taken to sleeping in Maka's bed surrounded by her smell. The only sort of comfort he had in his reasonless world.

He sighed audibly and squeezed her hand. He loved her and he knew it. He wasn't going to deny it anymore. He had been in love with her for as long as he could remember being with her. He loved everything about her, from the way she bit her lip when she was embarrassed to the way she shouted at him and argued with him. He'd give anything for her to wake up and argue with him again, as masochistic as it sounded. That's when he made a promise to himself. If she woke up, he would tell her how he felt. He would tell her that he loved her. Suddenly Maka squeezed his hand back and his eyes shot to her face.

She groaned as her eyes fluttered slowly "Soul…" she moaned searching for his face. Next thing she knew warm arms were wrapped around her neck and she could feel wet tears on her cheeks where somebody's face was pressed.

"Maka," Soul whimpered, "Thank everything you're okay, you're okay"

"Soul, what's going on?" she whispered softly while blushing bright red "Why am I in the hospital? Why are you crying?"

"You were in a coma, for 3 weeks," He mumbled into her cheek. "I was so worried, they didn't know if you were going to wake up.. I.." He couldn't go on any longer and he just pressed his face into her neck as her arms wrapped around him and she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Shhhhh it's okay," She said soothingly. Soul pulled back so his forehead was resting against hers and his face was just centimeters away from hers. Her arms stayed wrapped around him and her face was bright red. His red eyes stared into hers with a look of determination "What is it soul?" Maka asked softly still not able to talk very loudly.

"I made a promise to myself about something if you woke up. Maka, these past three weeks I just, I just didn't know what to do. Without you, I'm lost. The apartment, it was so fucking empty. I was lonely and for the first time in 7 years, I cried, not cool right?" Maka blush deepened at his words.

"Soul, I-" she started but soul cut her off.

"No let me finish," He said his forehead still resting against hers his face was turning red. "Maka, I love you. There I said it," noticing the look of shock on her face he quickly added "If you don't feel the same way that's cool, I hope we can still be partners or whatever and I promise I won't make it weird or anything, but yeah okay…" He trailed off.

"You're an idiot," Maka said suddenly with tears in her eyes.

"What?" Soul said shocked and a little bit angrily.

"You're an idiot," Maka laughed with tears streaming down her face. "You wait until I almost die, and wake up from a coma to tell me that you love me? You idiot, I love you too." Suddenly Soul was kissing her. It was gentle and sweet as he cupped her face with his hands and moved his mouth softly against hers. They parted with a gasp and he put his forehead against hers again.

"I'm sorry that I'm and idiot, but I do love you, I've always loved you and to know that you love me back, I just…" He trailed off again, his heart bursting with happiness. Maka was alive and awake and she loved him back.

"I've always loved you too." She smiled and leaned up and closed the few centimeters of space and kissed him again. It was right about then that Tsubaki and Black star walked in.

"Woah!" Black Star exclaimed. "What the heck…?" Tsubaki quickly covered his eyes and dragged him out of the room before he could say anything else. They could hear him yelling from the hall and they both laughed. Tsubaki stuck her head back in and quickly said.

"I'll let everyone know you're awake," she smiled to them knowingly and walked out of the room. Soul looked back and Maka and they both smiled.

"Where were we?" Soul asked playfully a smile at the edges of his lips. "Oh I think I know," He leaned down and kissed her again, the softness of her lips enticing as she pulled him closer.